Not Chosen But Chose To
by SinisterlyMe
Summary: James Potter, during a particularly vicious Quidditch match, is thrown in to the future in the year 1995. With no clear way to get back to his time and finding out how much of his future didn't go as planned, James must heal, be healed and grow.
1. Chapter 1

Not Chosen But Chose

Summary: James Potter, during a particularly vicious Quidditch match, is thrown in to the future in the year 1995. With no clear way to get back to his time and finding out how much of his future didn't go as planned, James must heal, be healed and grow.

I hope you will enjoy this story. I thought that James needed more love and therefore another story to contribute to his time travel section. This story line has been stirring in my head for a while, so I'm glad to finally have it on paper. I'll make sure to be really consistent so I'll update every week and each chapter will be in between 3000-4000 words because if I get any longer than it would sound rambly and if it was any shorter, than it will sound rushed. Enjoy!

If I owned Harry Potter I wouldn't be worrying about what grades I get in my AP or chemistry classes. And there would actually be a legit book just dedicated to the Marauders or Slytherins.

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><p>Prologue: Not Knowing and Finding Out<p>

James Potter woke up with a sharp ringing sound in his ears and a dull almost phantom ache in his chest area. His eyes felt heavy, and burned as if he hadn't slept in days. Or maybe like that time Sirius and himself got so drunk celebrating and found themselves miles in to the Forbidden Forest in their newly acquired animagi forms. He lay where ever he was for a good few minutes before his senses started to clear up, and the pains completely drifted away. Opening his eyes, he shifted to a sitting position, and looked around curiously. He peered around and was met with a slightly blurry mess and, smacked his head before patting down on his pockets to see where his round spectacles were. His eyesight wasn't that bad, but it always made him feel somewhat less sure of himself if he couldn't see something clearly.

"Wow, this definitely isn't the Quidditch pitch."

Inspecting the metal things sticking out of the ground a few yards away, the long lines of mundane, dull houses, and the weird shiny box things on wheels, James snapped his fingers in realization.

"So that was what Professor and Lily were talking about! It's a muggle… why the bloody hell am I in a muggle neighborhood?" He finished in a panicked voice. James rolled on to his feet, cracking his sore back in the process. His long red Quidditch cloak and gear were still firmly buckled and tied to his body, and from experience at falling asleep in his uniform several times before, told him he hadn't been laying down for more than three hours. Running his hand through his pitch black midnight hair, he glanced curiously at the house behind him. Backing up so that he could get a better view of it, he noticed that he had been laying on what used to be flower bedding, but was now a mess of roots, dirt, and weeds ripped out of the ground and mixed together.

"Boy, are you done with the weeding yet!"

James jumped as the wooden door to the house he was previously laying in front of burst open to reveal a very fat and ugly muggle. James would have laughed at the very expression and appearance of the man if he wasn't already panicked and confused anyway.

"Potter! Are you half deaf, on top of being a half blind freak? Why isn't the garden… THE GARDEN!"

The man's face bunched up in a particularly horrid look, his chubby hands clenching and unclenching. Rearing back in shock James face scrunched up in offense. "How dare you! I don't even know you…muggles are so rude. And I'm not half blind just because I wear glasses, thank you very much you bloody git!"

James watched as the man's face became a purple color rivaling that of a plum.

"Petunia! The boy has finally gone completely loony!"

James was tempted to back away and run while he still could (Not that he doubted his speed against this muggles for a second) but the familiar name caused him to stand rooted to the grounded; though he couldn't recall where he'd heard the name before. The door once again swung open to reveal and tall skinny women in a summer dress. Her face was almost a female version of Snape's, with the long nose and thin unappealing features. Before he knew what was going on, the thin woman, Petunia, was pulling him inside quickly while glancing around the neighborhood with her eyes narrowed. Practically throwing him in the house, she slammed the door behind her once the man entered again.

"What have I told you? No wands, no magic, no wizarding anything! It's enough that we let you use that bloody beast for mailing! Poor Dudley can hardly sleep through the night between that bloody bird and your screeching and moaning! And now you go around gallivanting in bright red robes!"

James' mouth hung open the whole time, not really understanding what exactly was going on. Folding his hands behind his head in a thoughtful manner, he zoned out Petunia's voice and blurred out the fat man's purple face. James' shook his head in thought and tried to recall what he happened to him before he woke up.

"_Another amazing goal by Gryffindor Chaser Potter!"_

"_Ten points!"_

"_The snitch has been caught! Gryffindor wins!"_

"_Prongs! Watch out! The bludger!"_

"_James! Someone catch him!"_

It was the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match, right? He could hardly remember any of it. The game had gone on for quite some time until the snitch was caught, but all of them were moving so fast and furiously that it seemed like only minutes went by. All he could clearly recall was being hit by an enchanted bludger in the chest, falling off his broom, and then going unconscious. Figures a Slytherin would cast some kind of curse or something to try to win. Briefly he wondered if Lily was worried about him, but shook his head at the thought. Right now was not the time to think about gorgeous Lily… he could wait a few minutes for that. He was snapped out of his thoughts as he was grabbed and roughly shoved in to the wall.

"Hey! What was that for? Child abuse, much? Can you image what would happen if this face was damaged!"

Whipping out his wand, he was about to throw a particularly nasty hex their way when the door bell rang causing the two muggles to freeze. James' brow furrowed in confusion as they shoved him up the stairs, and waited until he was fully out of sight to open the door. He was tempted to jump back down there to show them what happened when you messed with a Marauder, but he really wanted to find out a little more about where he was first. James peaked back around once before disappearing farther in to the house. These people, whoever they were, thought that he was someone else, and by the sound of it, this person he was mistaken to be was a wizard in a muggle family. A muggleborn perhaps? Though he couldn't quite imagine who would look so much like him, since the Potter family had very unique features. Opening several of the doors, he inspected the rooms, and bathrooms; a part of him really excited at finally seeing where muggles lived. Seeing a cage in one of the rooms, and a large trunk tossed in the corner, James cautiously walked in, as if something would just jump out at him and attack.

Looking at the desk on the other side of the room, he was somewhat comforted to see Hogwarts miscellanea strewn all over the place. James picked up a piece of parchment, and frowned at the sloppy handwriting and the vague hesitant like touch to the subject. Of course History of Magic papers were always hard to write when you were taught by a ghost that made it virtually impossible to even keep awake in the class. Drawing his eyes further up, he noticed on the top right hand corner a name that was neatly scrawled out though. HARRY POTTER. Potter? They shared the same last name? Looked the same AND the same last name? The corner of his mouth twitched down in to a deep frown before he picked up another paper; not at all guilty at reading someone else's mail. Skimming through the letter quickly, and only stopping to carefully read over the paragraph about Quidditch, he found out that this boy, Harry, was going in to his fifth year at Hogwarts, and this person Ron Weasley was most likely his best friend. Weasley…as in Arthur Weasley maybe? He had been several years ahead of him, but it was hard to forget someone who had flaming red hair, and had a huge reputation for getting in to fights with the Slytherin Head Boy, Lucius Malfoy. He had also been a few years ahead. Moving the papers and feathered quills to one side of the desk, he found a small little picture frame face down at the corner of the desk. Picking it up, he dropped almost instantly in shock. The picture featured him and Lily holding each other happily and dancing in autumn leaves. He looked several years older, maybe four, and the fact that Lily wasn't looking at him like he was the scum on her shoe was surprise enough. Checking to see if the photo had a date in the back, or if it was even real at all, he desperately checked the desk for some kind of calendar. Sure he was happy that such a thing existed, but not when you didn't know where you were, and who the person was who had it was. Opening the desk drawer, he shifted all the items aside, and found another curious item. It had his name on it along with Lily's which was addressed to the Harry boy. Opening up the thick cover to the front page he grew even more anxious when he saw a small red album full of more pictures of him and Lily with… a BABY?

"Holy Merlin! I get married to Lily! Wait the baby… I'm going to shag Lily?"

James threw his arms up in the air, "Thank you! Shows old Paddy that it was going to happen sooner or later!"

Bouncing up and down in glee, he almost forgot what he was looking for until he saw an old looking calendar hidden behind the wooden wardrobe on the wall where the door to the room was. He immediately grew serious again. Crossing the room in a few quick strides, he grabbed the calendar and started to flip through it. Whoever this boy was, he was pretty eager to get back to Hogwarts and for the summer to end because the way he x'ed the days were pretty fierce and there was a huge circle around September 1st, the first day of the Hogwarts school year. The lines were thick and large like if the boy made them any smaller, the days that had already passed would be added back to the remaining days. As James flipped through the calendar he noted that he was in Mid-July. That wasn't right… it was November last time he checked. After all, it had been pretty chilly out when the Quidditch game started, so why was it steaming hot outside when he woke up. Flipping to the front of the calendar, he practically fell back in alarm. In large black letters it said 1995-1996 CALENDAR. He felt something start to bubble inside of him… laughter? Hysteria? No this wasn't possible, and he was too smart to go insane… something like that. Biting his lip in thought, James crossed his arms.

"I was hit pretty hard with that bludger. There's a chance that this is just a dream or illusion. Some strange world. But it feels to… real."

He could feel himself shake as he backed away from the calendar, bumping into a small box sticking out from under the small bed. He felt a thick parchment under his foot, and closed his eyes tightly; afraid of what else he would find. Slowly looking down, he practically darted to the floor as he saw the neat and calligraphic writing and who it was from. Sirius. Smoothing out the parchment he breathed in and out evenly as he started to read.

_Dear Harry,_

_ How did the second task go? I suppose I will be seeing you in a couple of weeks for Christmas, but I thought that this would bring some cheer to you. I'm sorry about your friend, Ron. Your father and I had a falling out once. It was in our seventh year when he decided to use me as a human cannon ball as an experiment to see who could go fastest in the air; me with a catapult charm or him on his broom. We were at each other's throats for a month before both of us finally broke and practically ran back to each other. All __**good**__ friends forgive each other at one point or another that I can assure you. If they didn't, then no one would have a friend and the whole world would be sixes and sevens. Anyway, the picture in the envelope is of Remus, James and I on the last day at Hogwarts; our graduation. Peter was probably sneaking around with those slimy Slytherins at the time, but anyway… your father was always the most optimistic of us, and I remember what he said just as we were leaving the final feast. "No matter what happens things will always get better and brighter. After all, there is more sunshine than there is darkness."At the time we thought he had too much firewhiskey to drink, but it makes sense now. Don't ever think that you're alone because at the end of the day, you have me, and the people you care about never truly leave you. Keep your chin high. Your father would have been so proud of you, never forget that. _

_Sirius_

"Me? Harry is my… son? Am I… am I…" Dead. James was not naïve; lazy and childish sometimes, but he was still one of the top in his class, and he was never one for denial. His fingers shaking, James carefully pulled out the picture still hidden from few in this small envelope. There he was. There they were. James gasped in realization. This couldn't be an illusion. Everything was too clear, and if it was an illusion, he was sure his subconscious wouldn't make him… dead. Holding his stomach, he ran to the bathroom he had found down the hall, and threw up almost everything in his stomach. What about Lily, and Moony? Where was Sirius? And if this boy, that these muggles are taking care of, was his son, why wasn't he with one of them? Why would Peter be with Slytherins?

His mind felt like it was going to explode, and before he knew it, he was running out of the house at a break neck speed. House after house after house, James ran until it felt like he couldn't run any longer, and when he found himself in front of a forest like area, he transformed in to his animagus form and ran even farther. Speeding through the area, he didn't notice how close he was running along a cliff above a river until the weight of his hoof caused a piece of the ledge to crumble off and send him hurtling to the waters. In midair, he transformed back and crashed in to the warm water causing him to land in head first. He couldn't breathe, and his limbs hurt too much. He didn't want to move, so he let himself sink farther and farther down until he was close to the bottom of the river. The edges of his vision were starting to blur, but his body started to kick in again. Feeling a surge of magic go through his body, he felt himself being pushed out of the water until he found himself on dry land. As James gasped for air, he coughed up water from his lungs. Crawling farther out of the water, he sat up against a nearby tree. Dripping wet, and completely miserable, he subconsciously looked to the right and left to him. But Remus wasn't there to tell him it was going to be alright, Peter wasn't there to give him a small shy smile, and Sirius wasn't there to pat him on the shoulder and tell him whoever did this was going to be taught a lesson. And for the first time since he was a small little kid, he cried. Cried until his eyes hurt, and his throat was tight. Cried because he had no idea what was going on or what was going to happen. Cried because for the first time in his life, James felt utterly helpless and alone.

He didn't know how long he sat there thinking about what he should do. Thank god he always had his wand on him even during Quidditch, because you never knew when some Slytherin or an especially malicious Ravenclaw decided to play dirty. Twirling his wand between his long thin fingers, he wondered if the trace would still be on him if he was in a different time. The trace never really identified the person doing it though, so if he did do magic, would they send a letter to this Harry ki… his future son.

Pushing himself off the ground, he climbed back up the cliff and made sure that his red cloak didn't get caught or tear. He slowly headed back to house, but unfortunately in his panic, James didn't see exactly what direction he was supposed to be heading. Shrugging his shoulders, his inner voice (which sounded suspiciously like Sirius) told him to wander until something or someone comes along. Tightening the laces on his knee high flying boots, James found his way back to the main road, and quietly but quickly jogged past the dozens of identical houses. He was losing hope quick as he saw no sign of a house with a ruined flower bed in the front, and the cold feeling of helplessness started to creep back out. But James shook his head and continued forward down the long road. James would never have realized how long the road would be the next few months.

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><p>Thank you for reading, and PLEASE REVIEW! I love hearing even a small 'good job' or 'I love it so far' because it really brightens my day! Plus it will probably fuel my need to update sooner or for my chapters to be longer!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Yay! I'm way too excited about this story to not write more chapters so I thought it would be nice to update early. The thing is that by the time I update one chapter, I've already finished the next because if I'm ever too busy to write one week, I have a chapter to spare, and you NEVER miss out. The updates will probably become less frequent though since I'm going back to school in a week or so…

Chapter Two: Becoming My Son

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><p>It was close to ten at night before James wondered back in to what he learned was the home of Petunia and Vernon Dursley and their son Dudley. Apparently he had a very chatty neighbor by the name of Arabella Figg who loved to ask a lot of questions. What was he wearing? Where was he earlier today? And on and on like some kind of keeper of some sorts. James kept their conversation brief and explained numerous times that he was way too tired to talk. The woman seemed much put out, but at that point, James hardly cared what one batty old woman thought. It wasn't hard to sneak back into the house since the members seemed to have already gone to bed, but it worried him of the lack of concern given to his son by these people. Thinking about it, he did remember Lily saying that she had a sister that was also named after a flower, so maybe that was why the name Petunia seemed familiar. Making sure to not step on loose floor boards or make any sudden noises, James slipped carefully in to Harry's room, and slowly shut the door. Once he as safely back in the room, James slipped his robes, along with the rest of the gear he was wearing off. They were pretty ruined, as they were ripped, stained and wrinkled in every which way. A little uncomfortable at borrowing his son's clothes, James grabbed a pair of muggle pants and a shirt from one of the wooden drawers. He paused as he looked at a picture of a tall boy with red hair, a girl holding a stack of books, and a boy that looked almost exactly like him hidden underneath a pile of folded shirts. So that was him. They had the same everything except James noticed that he was taller, and had had hazel eyes opposed to Harry's short statue and brilliant green ones. Yup, Harry definitely got most of the best physical traits of Lily and himself. He almost laughed at the strangeness of it all. He was married to LILY! And he had a son! He swelled with even more pride as he saw the small red Gryffindor crest on the robes the part of the Gryffindor robes. Was Harry smart? Was he a little marauder? He wanted to know everything! James immediately grew serious though when a thought crossed his mind. If he was here in the future, then where was Harry? He remembered Moony saying something about bad things happening when wizards meddled with time. But then again why wouldn't he want to meddle? Wouldn't it be for the best if a few things changed… him dying and <em>especially <em>Lily dying was definitely not something he'd want to happen. Of course he'd have to do it secretly since if someone _did_ recognize him, they'd probably wipe his mind and send him back quicker then he could say Snivellus. No he'd have to find his own way back, but not before learning as much as possible and not getting caught. It would be hard, but then again, that's what Marauders did best.

Carefully picking up the photo of Harry and his friends, he noted a lightning bolt scar placed on his forehead. James knew a simple concealing charm wouldn't do as there could be a number of other scars or markings that could very well blow his cover. Making up his mind on what to do, James rolled on to the small bed and tried falling asleep. His heart sank a little as he could smell faint signs of salt on the worn white pillow at the front of the bed, a sure sign that Harry had cried in to it more than once. He would know since the pillow was in the same condition Remus' was after or before a full moon. Closing his eyes tightly, he let the stress of the day slip away and fell in to a light sleep.

Morning had come too quickly, and with it, a few more discoveries about his son. Inside the Hogwarts trunk were several objects that proved to peak his interest. The Marauder's Map, his invisibility cloak, a few more pictures, and a bag of galleons that were inside the very same red pouch he used to carry money in. Opening up the red bag, he dug his hands through the layers of money before he found what he was looking for. At the very bottom of the bag was a key to a vault in Gringotts. His eyes furrowed as he inspected it more closely. No this wasn't right at all. His vault was in the lower levels just as the Black Family vault was. This one wasn't even close to that, even if it was still in the high security section.

"It's probably just a trust fund until he turns sixteen. Probably something Lily came up with." Throwing on whatever wizarding clothes that were there, a long black cloak, bagging a few stray hairs on a random article of clothing and pocketing anything he thought he needed, James once again found himself tip toeing through the house. Stopping in front of what looked like a broom cupboard under the stairs, James wondered if it would just be smarter to enchant a broom and fly on it with the invisibility cloak. Seeing no harm in that happening, James opened up the tiny door and peered in. Scooting farther in to get a better look at the different assortments of brooms, James almost yelled in triumph when he found a wizard flying broom hidden in the back and under a dirty blanket. He stared in awe at the sleek long form, and the neat and new condition it seemed to be in. It was beautiful! James looked down and silently punched his fist in the air when he saw the word 'Firebolt' engraved in gold at the front part of the broom; the name obviously giving off the meaning that the broom was bloody fast. Making sure that he didn't knock over any of the other brooms in the processing of taking the Firebolt, James made his way to the back of the house; not wanting to take a chance in running into that Figg woman or any other person in that matter.

Straddling the broom, he fastened the invisibility cloak around him so that himself nor the broom could be seen. Kicking off the ground, his head snapped back at the sheer speed of the Firebolt without it even reaching maximum momentum.

"I wonder if Harry would mind if I brought this back with me?" James said with a wide grin. At a speed that rivaled even the fastest of creatures, James flew over London, surprised at how much had changed in the past (almost) two decades. Dropping close to the crowd under him, he high fived a man who was waving/hailing a taxi over before zooming higher into the air again with a thunderous laugh. He started to slow down as he saw the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron coming up. Smoothly landing on to the ground, James walked in behind a pair of wizards. Maneuvering himself around the numerous tables, chairs and people, James ran to the back of the pub, and to the alley that led to Diagon Alley; the wall half way closed just as he slid to the other side. Throwing off the invisibility cloak and bringing up the hood of the black cloak so no one could see his face, James walked through the ever crowded streets of Diagon Alley and entered Gringotts. Besides the slightly more worn look to the Goblin controlled bank, it looked exactly the same, and James even suspected that some of the Goblins working were the same ones he saw when he got his money in the beginning of his school year; they did live a long time just as wizards did after all. Not feeling too comfortable taking a chance in going to his usual Gringotts employee, Nagnok, James hurried his way to another fairly new looking employee goblin. Standing in front of the goblin, James fidgeted a bit before the Goblin put down his quill.

"How may I assist you?"

"I would like to make a withdrawal to vault number 729."

"A key if you will, for identification."

"I have a blood lock on it so there is no key to the vault."

The Goblin shook his head up and down in recognition and led James forward. Jumping in to the cart, the James watched as they went lower and lower underground. It only took ten minutes before they made it to his vault, which looked like it hadn't been opened in years… but then again that must have been true. The Potter Crest was no longer on the front, and it looked like someone had tried to open it without having the password, which caused the vault door to heat up.(there were burn marks on the edges) The Goblin looked suspiciously at him, as he pulled the cloak farther down to cover his face. The Goblin stepped back to the side as James placed his finger along in the center of the door where a sharp edge was, and slid it down so it cut a bit of his finger pad open, drawing blood. The door then seemed to come to life as locks, bolts and charms swirled in an intricate pattern. Soon enough the door swung open to reveal what appeared to be something like a cave of wonder; filled with enough treasures and money to last forever. Being a descendent of one of the first wizards helped of course. Whipping out a wand, he conjured himself an extension and ant-gravity bag from where it originally lay in the vault (his family always kept at least ten ready in the cave for whatever reason) and absent mindedly waved his wand which got rid of the dust and webs that built up. Filling the bag with as much as he could since he would be paying for quite a load of things today, James once again checked that his hood was firmly in place, and exited the vault. Tucking his wand back in to his pocket as the vault closed, James hopped back into the cart. As the cart started to move, he fingered the small key in his right pocket.

"Wait! Can we visit vault 410? It's on the way up."

"Of course, sir."

When the cart once again came to a stop, the Goblin held out his hand for the required key, which James promptly gave him. The door easily swung open to reveal what looked to be a healthy amount of gold galleons and such. It was looked to be enough to last any normal young wizard another few years. Nodding his head in satisfaction, James felt much better in seeing that Harry wasn't suffering in the ability to pay for supplies, trinkets etc. With that, he turned around and left Gringotts.

The first stop was a very popular potions shop that sold premade mixtures of all sorts, J. Pippin's Potions. He planned to buy polyjuice potion so he would be able to see how much of his original appearance he had to hide compared to that of Harry's. He was sure that there wasn't that much to change, but even the smallest of details could make all the difference. And after that, James went to the Madam Malkin's for a few random pieces of clothing that he'd rather not borrow even from a relative (if you know what I mean) and two sets of regular wizard robes which Harry sadly lacked. After that, James wasted no time in purchasing an assortment of candy just because he wanted to from Sugarplum's Sweets Shop. As he exited the small candy shop, he curiously wondered if there was still a burn mark on the corner of the sign, and was not disappointed when he saw the light ashen coloring. Peter had accidently dropped his wand, and stepped on it, causing a small flame to burst from the core, and run into the light blue hanging sign. He let an amused grin spread across his face as he practically skipped down the street; a cauldron cake wedged between his teeth has he made sure that he wouldn't drop anything. Humming to himself, James flicked a crumb off the front of his robes. He was surprised at the lack of security or suspicion in many of the people at Diagon Alley. He was wearing a cloak that covered his body from head to toe, and buying an unusual assortment of items all at once… even he thought that was strange. And yet, majority of the people that had past him didn't give him more that a second glance as if someone had told them that everything in the world were rainbows and butterflies.

Checking the hour, he was satisfied at the amount of time he had left to get started on his 'Harry analyzing'. James slipped back out of Diagon Alley and into the Leaky Cauldron, except without his invisibility cloak on this time.

"Excuse me, I would like to rent a room for the afternoon… maybe just until midnight."

The pub owner, Tom, who seemed to be quite used to strange people coming in and out of the Leaky Cauldron paid no extra attention to him than any other new customer.

"That would be three galleons, which includes free food and drinks just for your first night… which I guess is your last, too." Tom said absentmindedly as he handed James the key and room number. Nodding his head in thanks, James made his way up the old wood stairs and to his designated room. The thought made him cringe, but at that moment he was glad that the Dursleys didn't worry much for Harry, which gave him free will to disappear for hours and not really be cared for. After all, if he performed magic back at the muggle house, he would probably get a letter from the Magical Department of Under-aged Magic and he'd rather not run into authorities early in the game. The Ministry of Magic was one of the last things he needed breathing down his neck if he wanted to get the whole future-will-change mission right.

Opening the door to his temporary room, James dropped his bags on the floor, and set up right away for work. Dragging a full length mirror to the middle of the room, and a chair across from it, James stripped off all the clothes he was wearing except for his boxers. Uncorking the vial of polyjuice potion he had bought and dropping in a few hairs he had found on Harry's clothes, James swallowed it in one go. He watched in the mirror as a few things started to change. His eyes changed to a brilliant green, several scars (old and new) started to appear on his body, and his somewhat tan skin was replaced by an almost sickly pale color. The newly acquired scar on his forward gave the perfect touch to the haunted like look his son had going on. He tried not to think about how Harry had gotten the puncture like scar on his bicep, the cut on his left hand, and of course the strange shaped scar on his forehead. They had somewhat the same build, except Harry had less muscle and was not as tall as he was. But that really didn't need to be fixed as anyone could have a growth spurt over the summer. Nodding in satisfaction, James watched as the Polyjuice Potion started to wear off; returning him back to normal. Normally, it would be impossible for someone of his level to change their own appearance in to someone else's, and have it last for long periods of time. But lucky for James, not only was he an abnormally skilled wizard, but the changes were small enough to where a simple glamour charm would probably do the trick. Waving his wand carefully over his eyes, and several other parts of his body, James diligently worked on creating an almost exact replica of the more noticeable scars and such. An hour later he had successfully woven a charm onto the surface of his eyes, making them an emerald green, and over his body for the numerous scars. Besides the slight height difference or shade of skin, James looked so much like Harry, even he couldn't believe it. He puffed out his chest proudly; perfectly sure that even if he was standing an inch from Sirius's or even Dumbledore's face right then, they would never in a hundred years consider that it was him. Spinning around in a circle, he gave a triumphant whoop, and slipped some clothes on. Who knew, maybe it would be fun to be his son.

Several weeks past, and James Potter was enjoying himself. The Dursleys hadn't gone a day without experiencing some kind of prank/trick, and he loved teasing his future nephew, Dudley. In more than one occasion he had even made the boy go dizzy when he confused him with wizarding terms that the boy hadn't even heard at all. Of course not all was completely fun. Growing up in an old pureblood wizarding family, James had learned but stayed well away from anything non magical. He learned things like dancing, etiquette, playing piano and other things, while it seemed his role now was that of a house elf who cleaned, cooked and washed clothes. Of course within the first week, Petunia had refused to let him near the kitchen when he set the food and stove on fire.

"…ahh there's nothing like doing school work on something I learned months ago." James, in less than a day, had completed the rest of Harry's summer work. It was quite easy for him since he'd learned and reviewed it quite some bit ago. Reading over the assignments, he couldn't help but feel like the Potions essay was unusually difficult, while the DADA assignment was way too simple.

"They must be horrid teachers because I've never even heard of the Refalla Fantan Potion until now, and I learned that Defense lesson in the beginning of fourth year!"

James threw all of the papers and equipment into the trunk, and flopped on to his bed. He was about to close his eyes when a sudden cold seemed to fill the room. He felt a heavy feeling in his heart, and he broke out into a sweat as he approached the now foggy window. It looked like it had just instantaneously become cloudy, and he watched in horror was he saw a glimpse of a dark cloaked figure drift in the sky. Backing away from the window, he pressed his body against the wall, and waited for the coldness to disappear.

"Happy thoughts, happy thoughts…" he murmured under his breath. It felt like hours before the coldness slithered away, and the chilly air lost its bite. Dementors. But why they have been so far away from Azkaban and in a muggle area no less. Was there something going one that he didn't know? He felt a shiver run down his spine as he imagined the long daunting figures of the Dementors in the back of his mind and shook it off. Where was Moony with chocolate when you needed him? He suddenly felt extremely exhausted; probably an effect from being in slight contact with a Dementor. Without slipping off his clothes, James flopped onto the bed beside him, and fell asleep instantly; unaware of the visitors that would be arriving in a few hours.

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><p>The story sounded less jumbled and more interesting in my mind, but I hope it isn't bad. You know when you image a certain scene in your head, and there's even music to go with it, but when you writetype it down it looks like crap…yeah. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but feel like my mind is making this sound a lot better than it is… oh well! I hope you liked it, and chapter three will be coming up soon!

Next Chapter: Meeting Friends


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Meeting Friends

Happy New Years everyone! I had the most amazing and bizarre night! I was celebrating some quiet time with my family that night and everything was boringly well! And then next thing I know, my ex- best friend/ex-bf is at my door with a bunch of roses. He said that how he broke it off was wrong and that he didn't want to start the new year on a bad foot. We went out, had dinner and all is well! We're friends again and this year is officially setting off on a good note! And they say that these things don't happen…

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter... as simple as that!

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><p>It was well into the night before James woke up. The usual snores that could be heard through the walls were strangely absent, which left the house in an almost eerie silence. Sliding off the small bed, he peeked out the window; though he wasn't quite clear why. Maybe it was because of the cold lingering feeling that was still yet to completely disappear after the recent Dementor sighting or maybe he still felt uncomfortable being alone after waking up. Probably both. Now that he thought about it, there wasn't one time that he ever woke up without hearing or seeing someone he cared for deeply whether it be one of his fellow Marauders or his parents. Feeling his throat tighten at the thought, he closed his eyes again and imagined Sirius shaking him awake after a late night out sneaking around under the invisibility cloak. Opening his eyes, he smiled broadly before gaining a determined gleam in his eyes.<p>

"No one accomplished anything by being a wet blanket!"

Cracking his neck, James strode over to a mirror and checked that all of the charms were still in place. He noticed that the scar on his forehead was once again disappearing which seemed to happen quite a bit. Jabbing his wand at his forehead, he watched as it once again fully appeared. Looking around the room, he really couldn't wait to get out and get to Hogwarts. The place was depressing and it had been too long since he'd played an actual prank on someone. His eyes lingered on several objects until they landed on the now occupied cage on the desk by the window. It had been empty up until three days ago when a snowy white owl had swooped into the room. She was quite beautiful and had looked happy when she had first arrived, but once her eyes landed on his approaching form, she had practically attacked him. Poor James almost had a heart attack when he saw the glint of her talons aiming for his face. It seemed that Harry's familiar was quite smart and knew the difference between him and his son. Since then she'd kept quiet in her cage unless he got too close with anything but food for her. James carefully noted that going into the Headmaster's office would be a big no no since Dumbledore most likely still had his Phoenix with him.

James was shaken out of his reverie when the sound of several footsteps coming up to the house reached his ears. He hadn't realized that the Dursleys would invite anyone so late into the night. Looking down from his window, he practically had a heart attack when he caught a glimpse of five wizards slipping into the house after one of them waved her wand in what James assumed was an alohamora charm. Grabbing his wand from his pocket, he quickly locked his door with a key, and rushed to the other side of the room. Had they already found out about him? He had accidently done some wandless magic in frustration with the Dursleys, but usually that stuff went under the radar since it was nothing more than a levitation or dizzy charm. His eyes refocused when he saw a bright light shine through the key hole. Before the door was even fully open, James was already on the move.

" Locomotor Wiggly!"

James was unable to see if the leg collapsing curse made contact with anyone as he had to duck away from a blue spell aimed at him. Unfortunately, as the room was pretty small, he had nowhere to run as he set up a quick shield charm.

"Potter are you daft!"

In a moment of hesitation, he let his concentration falter, causing the shield he had set up to bounce towards him and pushing him right out the window. He faintly heard a mix of Harry's and Potter's as he was catapulted out the window and onto a set of bushes. Looking up he was met by a familiar but much older face of one Alastor Moody who visited Hogwarts often to speak to Dumbledore. The wizards and witches were outside a few seconds later and were helping James out of the bushes.

"Alright I'm sorry! It was an accident! But really it's hard keeping a check on your magic when you live with daffy blokes like these! I mean it was only a levitation charm! That's not Azkaban worthy right?"

There was a beat of silence before one young, purple haired witch started to laugh. She strode over to him and gave him a hard clap on the shoulder.

"Ha! You're a springy one, you are! See I told you he'd be alright. Really, everyone thought you might have gone a mite touchy! Oh! Sorry, I'm Tonks."

James immediately smiled at her friendly tone.

"A pleasure to meet you, beautiful Miss Tonks. Ja…Harry Potter."

James couldn't help it as his usual flirting and charm started to rise out of him like steam in a cauldron. He grasped her hand in his and gave it a light kiss as he winked at her.

"But you can call me Harry."

"Alright enough! We have to get going!" Moody whispered furiously as he suspiciously looked left to right.

James hadn't noticed until then that one of the wizards had been missing and had reappeared with his stuff and trunk shrunken. He was forever grateful that Remus taught him to always keep his stuff organized since he didn't want to explain the bag with all the money in it that he had placed in the trunk hours before. He was about to ask where they were going and why they were here, but Tonks beat him to it.

"Don't worry Harry. We'll explain everything when we get back to Headquarters."

Moody glared at the witch. "Not here, Nymphadora!"

James watched in surprise and amazement as her hair turned a brilliant red before settling back into the smooth purple when their brooms were summoned to them. The five wizards and witches made a formation around him before they all pushed off the ground together. It didn't take long for the six of them to reach London which seemed just as beautiful during night as it was during the day. Leaning the broom close to the water, he made sure to run his hand lightly over the surface before spraying it on the faces of the others behind him. He gave a little chuckle at their annoyed faces, and a mischievous smile towards Tonks who looked tempted to do the same thing. Once again paying attention to where they were going, James became quite a bit more curious when he realized that they were not heading towards the Leaky Cauldron.

When they finally landed in a park beside a long set of tall apartment houses, it only took a split second for James to recognize where they were. Even if he'd only been at the Black Family House two times in the five years that he'd known his best friend, it was very hard to forget since both memories were certainly fairly bad ones. Back in his time, Sirius's family was treating him more rotten than usual, and James had a sneaking suspicion that poor Padfoot wouldn't be able to handle it by the time he got back home during Christmas which would have only been about a month from then. Exiting the park and into the dark, empty road, James was surprised to see that Twelve Grimmauld Place was absent. He checked one more time as James counted eleven and thirteen, but no twelve. Looking back to the others, he watched as Moody tapped the ground with his wooden walking staff. James felt a magical power surge come from in front of him as the building morphed and readjusted much like the brick gateway to Diagon Alley did. It wasn't until the last of the brick set into place, and the metal rods for the gate sprang from the ground, did everyone begin to approach the once invisible space. James hesitated for a moment, thinking that there was a small chance that these people might not be friends if they were leading him to the Black residence, but shook it off. Stepping into the house, he almost gasped at the condition it was in. The once clean, polished and elegant house was in ruins. The wall paper was torn, and you couldn't even see the once dark green coloring as it was covered in dust, mold and other unpleasant things. Bits from the hall chandelier were missing, the carpet was reduced to a ratty piece of cloth and many of the floor boards looked like they had been dipped in some sort of herbicide or decaying potion.

James watched as the others past him, and trailed into a room that was at the end of the hall. He could hear loud frustrated voices from inside as he walked closer. James ran his hand through his messy hair, and looked over Tonks' shoulder to see inside. And that was all it took for the world to completely stand still for him. He was there. Not but a few strides away. But that wasn't him all the same. Not his Sirius. His Sirius had pitch black hair, sparkly grey eyes, a strong statue, and had a playful air to him. This Sirius_,_ had a few gray hairs growing, and his form seemed almost weak and tired. His eyes only held a pinch of sparkle in them, but they seemed to brighten considerably as they landed on his frozen form. James tried to smile, but it came out almost awkward and shy. Bucking up some Gryffindor spirit, he started to move forward but was cut off by an older red haired woman. James watched as Sirius tried to look at him from behind the woman's form looking almost like a puppy, but his figure, along with everyone else's in the room, disappeared as the woman closed to door.

"Harry! Heavens you're all right."

James hugged the woman, trying to decipher exactly who she. If this continued, pretending to be Harry would be a lot harder than he expected.

"Well, I'm afraid dinner will have to wait after the Order meeting. Go straight up stairs, first door on the left." She said with an almost sad smile on her face.

James looked back at her one more time as he started to climb the stairs, and wondered who exactly she was to Harry. They were obviously quite close by the way she was acting towards him; the red headed woman was noticeably shielding him from whatever was conspiring in the dining room, which made him all the more curious.

It was half way up the stairs that he ran into a house elf that he remembered clearly working for the Black's back in his time; though now he was tons more wrinkled and worn. James raised an eyebrow when he heard Kreacher's muttering, but decided to best not to bother him. Now, James knew that he was supposed to go straight up stairs to the first door on the left, but James hardly followed what adults said; and it wouldn't hurt to go elsewhere. James past the first door and climbed higher and higher into the building until he had come to the very top floor where only two bedrooms were. Opening the first one, he smiled at the familiarity that met him. Sirius's room was almost exactly how it was when he last saw it besides the now added gloom, doom and dust. Plopping down on the bed, James wondered if Sirius had found the box he had put under a floorboard beneath the bed. When James checked, but the box was nowhere to be seen which probably meant that either Sirius or another member of his family had lived through a week with pink hair.

Feeling something shake under his feet, James wondered what was going on in the room under him, which was making quite a bit of racket. Sliding part way down the banister, James threw open the door and was met by a cloud of smoke.

"Harry! You're here!"

"Which is perfect…"

"…because we needed someone…"

"… to give us their honest opinion!"

Before James could fully gather himself, he was grabbed by a set of red haired twins and hauled over to the center of the room where a cauldron was brewing. James shook away the surprise, and an almost roguish smile spread across his face at the sight that which was obviously mischief. He didn't need to be carried the full way as he was practically skipping to the cauldron. Looking inside he smiled at the recognizable smell and appearance.

"This is quite an impressive batch of Bubble Burping Potion but I'll let you in on a little secret." Drawing the two happy twins towards he, offered them his hands. "But you have to solemnly swear that this will just be our secret."

"My Harry! It's like you've completely changed over the summer!"

"We like it!"

After shaking hands, they all sat around the potion in a circle as James tried to find the ingredient he needed. After a moment, he snickered in triumph and held it towards the twins.

"Now nowhere in the directions does it say to add unicorn hair, but you'll be quite surprised to find out that if you add just three strands into it after it cools, the bubbles will be animal shaped. Of course I'll hold onto the multi-color secret for a bit, since a greater Marauder has to keep some secret."

James smugly noted that the red haired twins looked at him like he was Merlin himself before tackling him into a bone crushing hug! In perfect unison, they kissed him on both his cheeks and said "We don't know why, but whatever teenage adjustment has happened, don't EVER change! He's been transformed into one of us Georgie!"

"This really is lovely! 'Course this calls for some celebration, Freddie!"

James mood lifted considerably since he first entered the house and once again slipped into his usual mannerism. For the next hour, James helped the twins with a few extra tips to add some flare to their products they had shown him. He was delighted to hear about their plans to run a joke shop, but had to manage the complete excitement as Harry already knew about it. If Fred and George had only been born years earlier, who knew what they could have accomplished with Remus, Peter, Sirius and himself. Taking a scoop of the Bubble Potion, he took a small sip along with the twins to see if it worked.

"What do you mean you haven't seen Harry? I sent him up an hour and a half ago!" Mrs. Weasley yelled in an almost panicked voice.

"Well than he never came into the room. Maybe he wandered somewhere else or…"

Hermione didn't get to finish as Fred and George suddenly started to sprint down the stairs blowing what looked like animal shaped bubbles out of their mouths. Seconds later, Harry followed with his cheeks puffed out. Everyone watched as Harry took one look at Hermione before he grabbed her wrist and pulled her next to him as he blew out close to a dozen bubble butterflies out of his mouth.

"Hello there. Sorry but I had so many butterflies in my stomach when I looked at you that I couldn't contain them all."

Hermione turned bright red and tried to stutter out a reply, but after Harry finished saying this, a bubble in the shape of a dog exited his mouth and popped on Remus's nose, who happened to be standing a few feet away.

"Remus! Sirius!" Harry practically tackled them into a mighty hug with as much happy emotion they had EVER seen him use in his life. In fact, Harry seemed happier and very different from what most of them thought he'd be like after last year's events. And they'd thought the last remaining Potter would have been angry to find out that no one was allowed to tell him about the Order of the Pheonix. As he pulled Sirius into a conversation about a prank he pulled on his cousin Dudley, Remus's brow furrowed as he stood next to Arthur Weasley.

"A bit like James isn't he. I thought he'd be a ghost by the time we got him." Arthur murmured.

Remus nodded next Arthur as he stared at Harry. "A lot like James." Remus cast away those thoughts though when he felt the usual tightness in his chest at the memory of their lost friend.

"What are we eating? I'm so starved I can eat a hippogriff!"

Harry bounced into the seat next to Sirius's at the head of the table as people started to sit. Harry's behavior was out of the norm and a few people were unsettled with the, but others were quite happy and content that Harry was in high spirits for some reason.

As they all sat in their seats, and the food was set on the table, James quieted down to listen to the conversations around him. He was glad that he had learned the names of everyone there since someone said it out loud at one point or another but he wasn't too happy about what he was hearing though. So a dark wizard called Voldemort had been causing a stir during his time, but back then things didn't seem so bad. The way everyone made it sound was like they were on the brink of war and Harry was in the center of it all. James felt like there was a huge, crucial chunk in his son's life that he didn't know and it was the most important. Everything else though seemed to be running smooth except for the suspicious looks Hermione was sending him. She kind of reminded him of Lily…huh.

"…ich is exactly why Harry should be more careful or the Ministry won't hesitate to target him."

James head snapped towards Arthur Weasley whom had made the comment. Putting down his fork he scooted in closer. "I don't understand. What does the Ministry have against H…me?"

It got really quiet after that, and everyone looked as if they were holding their breath. James looked at everyone curiously as they tried to avoid eye contact.

"Show him; he'll find out soon enough." Mad-Eye Moody muttered gruffly.

James was then handed a newspaper by the man beside him, Kingsley, a few moments later. Both his eyebrows rose at the title of the front page article.

THE BOY WHO LIES

_The_ _boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about Harry Potter's strange behavior, which casts doubts upon his suitability to attend Hogwarts School. Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, has collapsed at school, and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the__curse__with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). It is possible, says top experts at__St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries__, that Potter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence that the scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion. "He might even be pretending," said one specialist. "This could be a plea for attention." The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that__Dumbledore, Headmaster__of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public. "Potter can speak__Parseltongue__," reveals__Draco Malfoy__, soon to be a Hogwarts__fifth year__._

_"There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a duelling club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends with werewolves and giants too. We think he'd do anything for a bit of power." Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Force Defense League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that he would regard any wizard who could speak Parseltongue "as a worthy of investigation. Personally, I would be highly suspicious of anybody who could converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated evildoers." Similarly, "anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants would appear to have a fondness for violence." Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether a boy such as this should be allowed to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Some fear that Potter might resort to the Dark Arts_

James mouth had gone dry by the time he had finished the article. He could hardly hear the others speaking to him as he automatically nodded. Placing the paper back down on the table, he looked up to see Remus looking at him oddly as if waiting for some sort of reaction, but whatever he expected never came. James didn't say a word and just stared and listened until dinner had ended and it was off to bed. He wouldn't cry. He'd already done enough of that. It was one o clock in the morning when he woke up from a restless sleep. Passing by a mirror out the door to the room, he noted that his eyes had turned back into their usual hazel color and the scar had once again disappeared. He'd fix that later. He was glad that his room was the farthest done so no one would hear him too much as he snuck into the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of firewhiskey, James sat down on one of the wooden chairs and drank himself silly. In no way was James an alcoholic, but this whole situation was a little too much for a book, or a piece of chocolate to handle. He hardly noticed when a blurry form sat next to him before he fell back asleep.

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><p>Over the years Harry would have honestly thought he would've gotten used to strange things happening to him… but up until then nothing like <em>this<em> had happened before. Going back in time, or maybe inhabiting someone else's body in hindsight would not have been as weird as watching a teenage version of his father pretending to be him, and doing a bang up job doing it. It actually made Harry somewhat annoyed at how obvious the difference was in their personalities and yet, besides a bit of uneasiness between some of his friends and companions, none of them could tell the difference. Sitting next to his half drunk father, he thought back to how it all started. Yeah, but that was the problem... he didn't now when this all started or how it happened even!

Running his hands through his hair, Harry tried to shake his father awake but his hands just passed right through him.

"Great... no one can see me, I'm stuck like this for who knows how long, my bloody dad is alive and right in front of me, and to top it all off, he's pretending to be _me._ How do these things always happen to me..."

Lying on the couch, though it was more like floating barely over the surface, Harry just watched as his father slept off the alcohol.

"I hope Aunt Marge wasn't right about dad being an alcoholic. I don't think I could deal with that, too." Harry said with a moan.

As he uselessly floated around for another hour or two, Harry suddenly realized something.

"Wait a minute... no one can see me, and I can walk through solids!" Floating through the numerous walls and objects in the house, Harry exited to the outside. Like bloody hell was he just gonna stick around and watch his father live his life! He was going to put his new condition to use! Voldemort wouldn't know what hit him!

"Once I find him..." Harry said as he tried to decide where to start looking. It was going to be a long year...

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><p><em><strong>(The above article is strongly based on the one on Harry Potter Wiki. In fact it's mostly the same besides a few sentenceword replacements to make it sound like a fifth year article instead of fourth year article. Therefore I will responsibly say that I do not own this and reference to Harry Potter Daily Prophet articles wiki page)**._

I bet most of you could probably figure out who I thought should be the first to easily pin point the difference between James and Harry. I'll reassure you that only two people will know up until the Christmas holiday, so don't think that I tried to make it sound like it would be a well kept secret and then it wasn't because it will be. I hope you enjoyed! Review!


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